EVENT COVERAGE

Event 2

Day 2 of Event 1 gave us a lot of things, including drama throughout, and a marathon finish that saw Jim Gilbert (Bensalem, PA) crowned champion just after 5:00am. Gilbert didn’t have a household name in the poker community, but people started to recognize him after he sent the tournament into the money, busting two players while holding pocket aces in that critical spot. At points while the tournament was playing down towards the final table, it looked as if we had an opportunity to see form Event 1 champions repeat their success, but both Greg Himmelbrand (Oakland Gardens, NY) and Ben Bianco (Franklin, NY) fell short of their ultimate goal. The crop of notables began to give way to some new names, up and coming players on the tournament scene, but Henry Lu (Marlton, NJ) was still lurking when they reached the final table. The 2012 WSOP Bracelet winner seemed as if he was on cruise control during the later stages of the event, but he would have to take a back seat this time around to Jim Gilbert. It’s not often that a player’s first recorded cash is for $184,902, but Gilbert starts to pen his resume with one of the most prestigious wins of the Borgata calendar year. Congratulations to Jim, the final table finishers, and all of the players who successfully cashed in the opening event of the series. For detailed coverage and a recap of all of the action from Event 1, you can CLICK HERE to scroll through the updates.

While the final table was taking place for Event 1, the “Junkies” from Event 2 were battling it out for what would technically be the first trophy given out for the day. It would be another breakout win for a relatively unknown player, as Robert Stephens (Chestertown, NY) managed to make his way through 397 entries and grab the Event 2 trophy (along with over $27,000). The tournament attracted an incredible number of players from the Baltimore area, loyally supporting their favorite sports-talk station, as well as what’s become their favorite poker tournament. This was the thirteenth installation of the “Junkies Poker Open,” and it gave an opportunity for some new names to make themselves known. The archived action from Event 2 could be found by CLICKING HERE.

Day 4 of the 2014 Borgata Fall Poker Open offers up one “main event,” but it’s one of the most popular amongst players…the $350 + 50 + 100 Black Chip Bounty No Limit Hold’em Re-Entry. The tournament begins at 11:00am, with live coverage of the event beginning the moments are in the air. Congratulations are once again in order to both Event 1 (Jim Gilbert) and Event 2 (Robert Stephens) winners, and all of the players able to cash in the opening events!

After nearly 17 hours of play, we have finally crowned our first champion of the Borgata Fall Poker Open.

Robert Stephens (Chestertown, NY) outlasted a field of 397 players to take down the trophy and the biggest cash of his career, as he takes home just over $27,000 for his victory.

Stephens entered the Final Table towards the top of the leader board, but was chipped down before finding his groove and bossing play once Event 2 got down to five handed play.

Over the last hour and a half, Stephens seemed to always have “it”, turning up with monster hands in all the right spots.

Stephens fired a few bullets in the $1,000,000 GTD Event 1, and is surely glad he decided to give it another go this morning in the “Junkies Poker Open” Event 2.

Stephens is planning on heading home tomorrow, and will bypass the “Black Chip Bounty” event that he initially planned on playing, saying, “This is money in the bank.”

Last BPO series, we saw tons of “firsts” and it seems like we are going to follow that same script here in November, as Robert Stephens claimed his first Borgata Poker trophy and the first trophy awarded in the FPO.

After coming in as one of the bigger stacks, and losing a few hands early, many players in his position would have been one of the first players gone.

But, Shetman worked his short stack to perfection, rarely ever moving above the chip average, making pay jump after pay jump, before ending his Event 2 journey in 2nd place.

The marathon journey for all the players started a little earlier for Shetman, as he woke up at 6 AM in his hometown of Brooklyn, NY and drove down to compete in this event.

After barely eating all day, Shetman is certainly headed to the nearest open restaurant for a victory meal, as he’ll celebrate the best cash of his career at just over $15,000 before making the drive back to New York.